AIDS Resource Center expands urban rent assistance programs

The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin is expanding the size and scope of its rent assistance programs to help people with AIDS wage their battle, not with disease, but with housing costs.

New medications and improved medical treatments are helping to combat the physical effects of HIV, increasing the population eligible for such assistance, AIDS Resource Center officials said.

"There are more people than ever seeking our services," said Michael Gifford, the ARCW's deputy executive director.

The center provided rent assistance to 667 people statewide in 1999, an 8.3 percent increase over the 616 in 1998, Gifford said. Rent assistance has been provided since 1992.

The ARCW's rent assistance program is especially important to Milwaukee because most of the people seeking the center's services live in the city, Gifford said.

"Like the epidemic, the services are concentrated in urban areas," he said.

The increased demand for rent assistance means an increase in the need for funding from government and private sources, Gifford said. The ARCW spent $550,000 for rent assistance programs in 1999, a 20 percent increase from the amount spent in 1998. Of this amount, 95 percent came from public sources and 5 percent from private sources.

Gifford expects increases this year in both the number of people served by the ARCW's rent assistance program and the funding that is required to serve their needs. The center will focus more attention on helping those people who are not only battling HIV and AIDS, but mental health problems or drug addiction as well.

"The need for AIDS housing is going to continue to grow," Gifford said. "It's the first step toward living a healthier lifestyle."

Several factors contribute to the need for affordable housing among people with HIV and AIDS, Gifford said.

First, the number of people living with HIV and AIDS is increasing, due both to new drug therapies that are prolonging life and to a continuation of new HIV infections in Wisconsin. There are currently 6,767 people in the state who are HIV-positive.

Second, new drug therapies for treating HIV and AIDS are expensive and they require patients to live in a stable environment in order to work effectively. With new combination drug therapies, a person with HIV or AIDS might have to take dozens of pills a day and many of these medications must be refrigerated or taken with a meal.

"It's a difficult thing to maintain the regimen," Gifford said. "It's almost impossible if you're also homeless."

Some people living with HIV and AIDS are homeless, and that is one reason the rent assistance program was started, he added.

Finally, the physical strains that HIV and AIDS impose force many people to reduce their working hours or leave their jobs altogether.

"It's hard to keep a job when day-to-day you don't know how you're going to feel," said Lynn Hirsch, service coordinator for the Rodney Scheel House, an independent living community for people with HIV and AIDS in Madison. "It doesn't take long before you need affordable housing."

Given these circumstances facing people with HIV and AIDS, Gifford said, the ARCW provides a broad range of rent assistance options.

The program provides four months of rent assistance ranging from $140 to $250 a month, depending on household size. Participants usually are referred to the program by physicians, ARCW staff or other agencies.

Anyone who meets the program's eligibility requirements will be given rent assistance, Gifford said. Even if a person doesn't meet these requirements, the ARCW offers a wide range of other services, including a food pantry and legal advocacy.

To be eligible for the center's rent assistance program, a prospective participant must meet two requirements, said Joshua Feyen, communications coordinator for the center. Participants must be HIV positive and be at or below 80 percent of the median income in the county where they reside. This amount varies depending on the county involved and household size.

As of February 1999, the Milwaukee County median income for a one-person household was $40,300. Although this income may seem sufficient, Feyen said 92 percent of the ARCW's clients in Milwaukee were at or below 30 percent of the county median income.

Although the ARCW's rent assistance program provides only short-term help to people with HIV and AIDS, Gifford said the center uses the program as a "safety net" until more permanent housing solutions are found.

These long-term options include finding extra income to pay rent and providing a transition to long-term housing run either by the ARCW or other organizations.

One of the options for permanent housing is the Rodney Scheel House, which offers 23 apartments for individuals and families. Permanent housing for people with HIV and AIDS must provide a combination of an affordable and a pleasant environment, Hirsch said.

In the future, programs like the ARCW's rent assistance program will continue to be established throughout the nation, according to Jeff Jacobs, director of government affairs for AIDS Action, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group.

"There's still a great need for affordable housing nationwide," he said. "It's still an incredibly important issue."